Sacrificing the Family
by Dr. Michaela Quinn
Summary: Ever since she was discovered in 1982, Reba has been touring the nation as a country music star, but lately her family has been acting funny. Is her career worth giving up her entire family?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This idea just came to me. On the **_**Reba**_** show they never combined Reba McEntire's singing career into the show because she said when it started that she didn't want it to be all about her singing; she wanted it to be a family show. (No, I'm not a creep; but I watch interviews and commentary) Anyhow; so this story will be about Reba's singing career and the show. Hope you enjoy. The first chapter may be kind of sad; I don't know; depends on your outlook on things.**

It was a quiet day in the Hart house. Brock was sitting on the couch with Jake watching T.V. Jake kept looking around.

"Hey dad, can I have a soda?" Jake asked.

"Sure son. I don't see why not." Brock replied. Jake hopped up off the couch and headed towards the kitchen. Brock was still sitting on the couch when a commercial came on and it was Reba singing to promote her latest album. Jake ran in from the kitchen.

"Mom?" He asked looking at the front door happily. Brock looked at him and frowned.

"I'm sorry buddy. It was only a commercial." Brock stated. Jake looked at him and walked over with a soda can in his hand.

"When's she coming home?" Jake questioned. He sat down and Brock put his arm around Jake's shoulders.

"I wish I could tell you Jake. I'm not really sure. This tour will probably be just as long as the last one." Jake sighed. "I'm sure she'll come see you when she's in town." Brock stated. Jake scoffed.

"I doubt that. Last time I had to buy a backstage pass to see her. Those two minutes cost me almost fifty bucks. That's three months allowance!" Jake exclaimed and then sighed. "If mom wants to really see me, she'll come home. But I'm not sure I ever want to see her again." Jake rushed around the couch towards the stairs.

"Jake." Brock said. Jake almost ran into Cheyenne as she walked in the front door.

"What was that about?" Cheyenne asked looking at Brock.

"He's just upset about your mom Cheyenne. That's all." Brock replied. Cheyenne shrugged.

"I don't know what the big deal is for him. Mom has been touring my whole life. She got discovered in that bar you all used to work in. What's the big deal? At least we've got you daddy." Cheyenne stated. Brock looked at her.

"Oh alright, what do you want?" He asked. Cheyenne looked at him shocked.

"What? What do you mean what do I want?" Cheyenne questioned and Brock gave her a look.

"Do I look dumb to you Cheyenne? I know you want something. Now just fess up about it." Brock replied. Just then, the door opened and Reba walked in. She was wearing a big, floppy, black hat and big sunglasses (**A/N: I know Reba McEntire doesn't wear stuff like this. I'm stereotyping; but leave it be. It has a purpose I promise!)**. Her manager was standing there next to her. Brock stood up and Cheyenne crossed her arms.

"Hello family." Reba walked over and kissed both of their cheeks. She took off the sunglasses and held them out by one arm. "What has been going on since I've been gone?" At first, neither Brock nor Cheyenne spoke. Finally, Cheyenne was the first to speak. She looked at Brock.

"I need to go upstairs dad. I will talk to you later." Cheyenne said and walked upstairs completely ignoring her mom. She got halfway up the stairs before Reba spoke to her.

"Cheyenne, aren't you even going to say hi to me?" Reba asked. Cheyenne glared at her.

"Why should I? Look at you; come flouncing into the house after eight months of being gone. You're a part-time parent and we all hate it!" Cheyenne exclaimed before rushing up the stairs. Reba looked at Brock with surprise.

"What's going on?" Reba asked.

"I'm afraid all three of the kids feel that way Reba. They feel like you would rather have your career than be their mother." Brock stated. Reba's jaw dropped.

"That's ridiculous!" Reba exclaimed. Brock crossed his arms and took a step back.

"Oh, is that right? This is why they haven't heard from you in almost nine months? Not a visit or phone call. Not even a letter?" Brock asked.

"I've been busy!" Reba exclaimed.

"Too busy for your own kids?" Brock questioned and then looked down at the ground. "Look Reba, the kids hold a lot of resentment against you; and seeing you today in that getup makes me want to quit defending you. They are coming up with some really good and defendable arguments. I'm not sure what to tell them anymore. How can I tell them you love them when you don't even have time for them?" Brock asked. Reba tossed her sunglasses onto the table next to her and her manager groaned loudly. She turned to face him. "I'm sorry. That won't happen again. I keep forgetting how expensive they were." Brock walked over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"This is what I'm talking about! This is what THEY are talking about! You haven't been here in eight months and when you get here you would rather talk to your manager than me." Brock said. He turned around and started to walk away from her.

"What do you want me to say Brock? I'm sorry? Well I'm sorry for my music career. I'm sorry I put food on the table every week and send home a check to you guys!" She exclaimed. Brock whirled around.

"This isn't you Reba! When we worked for Terry you were so simple and honest. Even when you started singing this wasn't you. It wasn't until HE started as your manager that you acted like this." Brock exclaimed thrusting his finger out towards Reba's manager. Reba looked at him.

"What's wrong with Rob?" Reba questioned.

"EVERYTHING!" Brock hollered. "He's turned you into a person I don't know anymore. You spend all your time on the road and hardly any time with us anymore. Jake is feeling neglected and I don't know what to tell him." Brock sighed and looked at her. Even though he's a man's man, he still broke down. "I'm tired of being a single parent Reba. I can't take that look one more time when Jake hears your voice and realizes you aren't home. I love you, but I love him more." Reba looked into her husband's eyes.

"Brock, what I'm doing is for Jake, Cheyenne and Kyra." She looked down at her outfit. "Sure maybe this dress outfit is a little much, but Rob said I needed it to touch new audiences." Reba replied.

"What about the audience at home? I know this was your dream Reba; but I'm tired of seeing my wife on the big screen and never at home. I see you in all kinds of concert halls, but you are never here with us. I think Cheyenne said it best; you truly are becoming a part time parent because you are never here." Brock said and then he started to walk out of the room.

"Brock…" Reba said with tears in her eyes. When he ignored her, she turned and walked over to Rob. She threw her hands in the air. "What do I do?" Rob took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"We are going to finish the tour. It's only another nine weeks or so that we have to tour and then you can come home and work things out with your family. You have to be strong for your audience Reb. You can't act like this. Do you think that your fans want to see you cry?" He asked. She shook her head no as she wiped her eyes.

"You're right." Reba said. "I don't know what I'd do without when we're on the road." He smiled.

"I don't know. But I'm glad I can be here to help you. You are one of the best country singers out that Reba. Your name is a household name. People everywhere know who Reba is. Come on camper, let's keep going. Only a few more weeks." He said. Just then, Kyra walked down the stairs and walked right past Reba to sit on the couch.

"Kyra?" Reba asked. Kyra looked at her.

"Do I know you?" Kyra gave her a funny look and then it was as if she had been hit with a realization. "Oh yes, you're my absentee mother. It's nice to meet you; I'm Kyra." She said sarcastically.

"Kyra, that's not fair." Reba stated. Kyra turned off the TV and stood up. She looked at Reba.

"You know, you're right; it's not. But neither is what you are doing to us." Kyra walked into the kitchen without another word. Reba turned to look at Rob and he held his arm out. She walked over to him and he put his arm around her.

"It's going to be okay. We have to keep touring. Only a little more time and then you will be able to come home for three weeks before we start picking out new songs for your next album." He stated. Reba looked back at her empty living room before walking out the door with her manager.

She had been working in the music industry since 1982. She had been working for over twenty-five years. Was it really worth it for everything her family was going through? She was doing this FOR them… wasn't she?

**To be continued…. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I would like to thank anonymous reviewer Wtrgal01 and my good friend FlyingHighAboveTheOcean for their replies to my posed question. Now, moving on to chapter 2 =) Hope you enjoy… BTW; this chapter takes place during the time period of about season four (for Kyra, Jake and Cheyenne's ages)**

**SOME EVENTS IN THIS CHAPTER MAY SURPRISE YOU!**

Reba was sitting on her tour bus thinking about what had happened the last few days. She was confused.

"_What has happened to my family? What's going on?"_ Reba didn't understand why everybody was acting so cold towards her. "_I put food on the table; I send money home to help with the bills every month. What more could they possibly need?"_ Reba looked down at the floor. She wasn't extremely thrilled with this arrangement either; but she had been wanting to be a country singer for a long time. She was discovered when she worked for Terry Holliway years ago. It wasn't a hardship for her when she got married to Brock and was singing. He traveled with her for the longest time. It wasn't even difficult when they had Cheyenne. They just took her right along with them. When Cheyenne started school and Kyra was born Reba took about six months off before heading back out. Brock started to stay home so Cheyenne could stay in school and somebody could watch Kyra full time. Reba appreciated this and she got to come home and see her girls a lot. When she wasn't with Brock and the girls, it did hurt her. She went for several years with Brock and Cheyenne on tour with her. When Brock started saying home with the girls she had to get a new tour manager; because Brock couldn't manage her from the house in Houston. This steel guitar player by the name of Narvel Blackstock (**A/N: =) I love including her family when I can) **came in 1991 and offered to manage the band. He was great at his job, but he got a better offer in 2002 and left the band leaving Reba in a lurch looking for another tour manager. That's when she met Rob. He had been a good tour manager so far; but Brock didn't seem to like him all that much. Reba looked out the window; it was raining. Just then she felt somebody walk over to her, but she didn't look away from the window.

"Reba?" The voice asked. Her whole body calmed. It was just Rob. It was a man she trusted and loved. She looked at him.

"Hi." Reba said quietly. He sat down next to her.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked. She didn't answer him at first. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak.

"I was thinking about my family and my life since I've been touring. I just don't understand what's wrong with my family. First Cheyenne wouldn't talk to me, and then Brock said all that stuff about Jake and Kyra just put me over the top. I'm not sure what I'm going to do." Reba said. She laid her head against the window, but never started crying. Rob slid over next to her and wrapped his arm around her.

"Reba, it'll be okay. I'm here." He said in a soothing tone. "We'll get this all worked out. I promise."

"What would I do without you Rob? You have always been here for me. Ever since my manager left three years ago. I appreciate you saying that you would be my manager." She said looking at him.

"Hey, it's really no big deal Reba. I love managing your band and being with you on the road. I'm glad to be able to see where you came from and what you are now and we aren't even finished yet." He said.

"We aren't?" She questioned and he shook his head no.

"This is just the beginning Reba Hart. Your name is going to be on every major marquee in the world before I'm finished." He smiled and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"How much longer until we hit the next spot?" Reba asked. He looked down at her and put his chin on her head.

"It's going to be another couple of hours. We just passed through Tulsa and we have to be in Bloomington by eight for the concert." He stood up and held out his hand to her. "Come on."

"What?" Reba asked looking at his hand.

"Come on Reba. I'm just trying to help you be less tense for the concert tonight." Rob stated. Reba glared at him.

"I'm a married woman!" Reba exclaimed.

"Come on, you've been teasing me and throwing yourself at me for the last three years. Are you not going to finally quit teasing me, give in and admit you want me?" He grabbed a hold of her arm.

"Stop it! Now! You're hurting my arm." Reba stood up and wrenched away. Rob reached out to touch her shoulder and she whirls around. "What are you thinking?"

"Hey, it's not all my fault. You are the one looking so beautiful in that dress." Rob said smiling at her. Reba scoffed.

"I'm going to call my husband and children." Reba walked off in a huff. Reba walked into her room and picked up her phone. She dialed and put it up to her ear. It rang three or four times before Jake answered the phone.

"Hello?" He asked. Reba smiled.

"Hi Jake." Reba said.

"Oh hi." Jake got real quiet.

"Jake?" Reba questioned. The line got really quiet before she heard the dial tone. That tugged at Reba's heart. She felt hurt. Jake hung up the phone when he realized it was her. Maybe it was a coincidence. But something told Reba it wasn't. This wasn't something she thought she could ever get used to; but that was just a price she would have to pay for now. She has a lot of work ahead of her. Nobody said it would be easy.

[

Reba was standing on stage in a beautiful floor length bright red dress. She had a microphone in her hand. She walked out onto the stage with Rob standing at the side of the stage smiling at her. Reba looked over at him almost in disgust.

"_I don't believe him. He's trying to act like what happened never happened. This is unbelievable."_ She paused for a moment._ "Focus Reba! Get out there and do a great concert!"_ Reba stepped out and the music started playing and after a pause, a smile and a wave across the audience she started singing.

"_She married when she was twenty…"_ And the whole crowd went wild. Reba's head was spinning. She couldn't remember the rest of the concert. The next thing she remembered was getting on the bus to head home. One of her guitar players walked behind her.

"That was a good concert Reba." He said. She nodded at him. She just wanted to go into her room and fall asleep. She might cry before that. Reba walked into her "bedroom" on the bus and looked at the calendar that sat on the desk. She couldn't believe she had another nine weeks before she could go home and straighten things out with Jake. It broke her heart thinking that he hung up on her. She kind of understood why he did it; but it still cut through her like a knife. Why did this have to be so hard on all of them? Why wasn't as easy as she expected it to be? She couldn't quit the business she loved and dreamed of for so long; could she?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter Two is the real thing now. =) Just thought I'd let you know. =)**

When Reba woke up the next morning she decided she couldn't go another day without talking to Brock and the kids. She got up and tried to talk to Rob.

"I'm going back to Houston." Reba stated. His jaw dropped at he looked at her.

"What are you talking about? You're going to Houston? You can't go to Houston; you have a concert in Richmond, Virginia tomorrow. You aren't going anywhere. This bus is headed towards Virginia." Rob said.

"Fine, drop me off at the first airport and I'll fly." Reba replied. She turned around but he grabbed her arm.

"You get off this bus and your career will be over. I can tell you that right now." He threatened. Reba turned around and looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"I've lost my family; my career is already over. You couldn't possibly do any worse." Reba replied. She turned to walk away.

"You will be nothing without me!" Rob exclaimed. Reba whirled around and walked over to him. She got up right next to him.

"It's your fault that I'm in this mess and don't get to see my family anymore. You have been trying to keep me away from my family this whole time. I can't believe that I didn't see this before. This never happened when Brock was my manager, nor with Narvel." Reba stated.

"That's because they didn't know what they were doing." He sighed. "I made you who you are Reba!" Rob yelled at her. Reba turned around and glared at him.

"Yeah, you did. And I hate it! Brock was right. I was much better before you came into my life." Reba took off the sunglasses she was wearing. She walked into her room and started putting some things into a bag. Reba picked up the picture of Cheyenne, Kyra and Jake. Brock had sent it to her last year for Christmas. She remembered why she wasn't there. Rob said that she couldn't go because they had a United States Christmas tour; all fifty states from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve. It was difficult work and she found it hard that she couldn't spend Christmas with her family. It was the first Christmas she had ever spent away. Reba slipped that into her bag and took some clothes and put them in her duffel bag. She took out some of her own personal items and put them in the bag before she got off the bus. Rob was no longer standing by the door so she was easily able to walk to the front of the bus. "Can you stop the bus? I have to get off." The bus driver looked at her.

"Mrs. Hart? What about everything on the bus? You're going to go without anything but what you have on your back and that bag?" He asked and Reba nodded.

"I don't need all that stuff." Reba looked back at it. "I just need my family and I have to go find them before I lose them forever." The bus stopped and Reba got off. She stood there as the bus went past her and sighed in relief. She was one step closer to being home to her family. She looked around and found a pay phone on the side of the road. They were still in Indiana. Maybe she could call a cab to come get her and take her to the airport. Whether or not she made it to Richmond was not important to her right now. She had to talk to her family and figure out what she can do to fix their family. Reba picked up the phone. After two rings, Kyra answered the phone.

"Hello?" Kyra questioned.

"Hi Kyra. It's me." Reba said. She leaned against the stand.

"Hi mom. So nice that you could finally call." Kyra said.

"I called yesterday young lady! Don't take that tone with me! And I don't owe you any explanation." Reba said.

"Oh that's right. You don't need us anymore. You have Rob." Kyra said sarcastically.

"Kyra-" Reba started to say when the phone slammed. She jumped. Kyra had hung up the phone. Reba put the phone down hard. Two down, two to go. Hopefully Cheyenne and Brock would listen to her when she got home. She really wanted to be able to have her family's forgiveness. But would she ever get it back? Could she expect them to forgive her after everything that's happened?

**To be continued… **


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